Shoe sole



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

oct. 9, 1945.

W. H. DOHERTY SHOE SOLE Filed OCT.. 20, 1945 -drin Oct. 9, 1945. w. H. DOHERTY 2,386,667

SHOE SOLE Filed Oct. 20, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 9, 1945 UNITED .STATES PATENT oFrifcE SHOE .SOLE

William H. Doherty, Elmhurst, N. Y. Application October 20, 1943, Serial No. 566,932

l(C1. :a6- 309 7 Claims.

This invention relates to shoes and more particularly to shoe soles.

An object of the invention is to provide a sole which may be made of leather, rubber or plastic, which will be supported in order to insure better service and more even wearing.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sole which is built about a frame so that the material may be fabricated thereon.

A further object is to provide a complete sole which will be flexible longitudinally, but which will not curl or warp laterally.

Other additional objects include p rovision of a more resilient heel and shank construction.

While my invention contemplates the application of my improved sole in new shoes, it is particularly adapted to repair units and may be applied to conventional shoes quickly and more readily than soles now available.

In the accompanying drawings- Fig. 1 is a plan sectional view of a sole embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional View taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3a is a cross sectional view taken on the line 3a--3a of Fig. 2;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of one of the members making up the sole;

Fig. 4 is a. cross sectional view taken through the line 4 4 of Fig. 2;

Figs. 5 and 6 are modified forms of securing the sole and heel together;

Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view taken through the line 1--1 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a further modification.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, my sole I0 is of conventional external dimensions and shape and consists of an inner frame, built up, of steel or other material essentially in two parts which are joined in sliding engagement to allow exibility between the sole and heel.

While the structure may be varied considerably, I have provided a series of U-shaped members, I I, I2 and I4, having their corners I5 xed by means of rivets I6. The free ends of the members II, I2 and i 4 are slidably engaged by means of the corrugated link 20 which is, in turn, held in place by the rivets 2|. Members II, I2 and I4 are encased in tubes 22, 23 and 24 to prevent their straight ends from being permanently attached to the plastic or other composition when the sole is molded. The tubes 22, 23 and 24 are, in turn, supported by the links 25, 26 and 21 which may be welded or otherwise fastened to the tubes and which are held in place by the rivets 29. A further wire 30 may be led up and over the tubes 22, 23 and 24 in the center o f the links 25, 26 and 21 to further bind them in place, as most clearly shown in Fig. 3a.

The heel portion is formed of a series of spring members 3l, 32 and 33 which are held at their open ends by the link 26 where they may be permanently iixed by Welding or otherwise. The spring members are held in position by means of the links 34 and 35 which may be fastened by the rivets 36 and 31, slidably mounted in the sleeves 4I and 42, which are fastened to the links 34 and 35. The area 40 is made of sponge rubber or similar material in order to provide greater 4 resilience and movement between the rivets 36 and 31 and the spring members 3|, 32 and 33, controlled by the links 34 and 35.

It will readily be appreciated that the sole may be manufactured as a unit in Various Ways, depending upon the material from which it is made. The frame may be rst constructed and the material molded or vulcanized about it. On the other hand, the material may be cut in strips and built about the frame. When the sole is to be applied to a shoe, the rivets I6, 2I and 36 may be used to fasten the sole to the Welt, and to the other parts of the shoe, as is clearly shown in Fig. 4.

In the modification shown in Fig. 5, the tubes 5I! are held by the wire 5I which is wound around each tube successively to secure them in place.

In the modification shown in Fig. 6 the frame 55 is provided with apertures 56 to receive the tubes.

In the modiication shown in Fig. 8 the tubes may be eliminated, the heel members are each provided with a socket 6I adapted to receive the end 62 of the sole reinforcing members. Sockets 6I are long enough to allow sliding movement of the ends of the members 62 therein to provide flexibility in the sole.

I claim:

1. A shoe sole having a frame made up of a plurality of overlapping members running longitudinally and laterally of the sole, said frame having a heel and foot portion slidably connected, and the members constituting the longitudinal members of said foot portion being slidably mounted.

2. A supporting frame for a shoe sole comprising a foot and heel portion, said foot portion being constructed of a plurality of longitudinally extending tubes, lateral members engaging said tubes, said members being adapted to be anchored to a sole at predetermined points, said heel portion being made up of a plurality of longitudinal members supported by lateral members, said 1ongitudinal members constituting spring elements, said heel portion being slidably connected to said foot portion.

3. A supporting frame for a shoe sole comprising a foot and heel portion, said foot portion being formed of a plurality of longitudinally extending tubes, lateral members engaging said tubes, substantially U-shaped members in said tubes, said U-shaped members and said lateral members being positioned at predetermined points by fastening means, said fastening means extending through said shoe to fasten said soleto said shoe.

4. A supporting frame for a shoe sole comprising a foot and heel portion, said heel portion being made of a plurality of overlapping longitudinally extending U-shaped spring elements, saidv elements being fixed against lateral or longitudinal movement, but movable vertically.

5. A supporting frame for a shoe sole comprising a foot and a heel portion, each said portion consisting of a plurality of overlapping U- shaped spring wire elements.

6. A supporting frame as claimed in claim 5, in which the free ends of the foot elements bypass the free ends of the heel elements, all of said free ends being woven into longitudinally slidable engagement with a transversely disposed, corrugated spring wire element.

7. A supporting frame as claimed in claim 5, a transversely disposed member having apertures therein which are formed longitudinally of said supporting frame, the free ends of said U-shaped elements being slidably mounted in said apertures.

WILLIAM H. DOHERTY. 

